Why did Arya pick the torturer to die? Presumably Gregor is still in Harrenhal, would he have been a more logical choice?

For me, the producers' handling of The Tickler was very disappointing. When they announced the casting of the part, I assumed that he would be given the vivid role that he had in the books. I had envisioned more of a Donald Pleasance sort of sociopath whose demeanor made it obvious how much he enjoyed his "work". Instead, we got a bored man eating a pear. Maybe it was the producers' way of showing how mundane the work of torturing people was to Ser Gregor's men, but I still found it disappointing.

An even bigger letdown was his demise. Without giving anything away from the books, I'll just say that his time in the books carried much more impact (the dread he inspired gave him a status that was almost mythological in a notorious way) & that he did reappear later in the book series in one of the most satisfying & dramatic scenes written by GRRM thus far. In fact, it was nearly a perfect scene & one that highly influenced other major characters & revealed quite a bit about their personalities and relationships. Hopefully, they'll manage to retain the impact of the scene by replacing The Tickler with a similar character, but it's still disappointing & a missed opportunity IMHO, although I trust the creators of the series to make up for it and not dilute that much-anticipated scene.

Also, even though we don't know (yet) whom Arya will choose next, I really liked the choices she made in the book along with her reasons. Her choices not only displayed her sense of justice but also her impulsiveness & immaturity... harking back to her indignant retorts in Season One whenever someone mistook her for a boy (or a peasant). The books made it apparent that, for all of her exposure to the violence & cruelty of the adult world, she is still very much an adolescent and behaves as such (her favorite word in the books seemed to be "stupid"). It's nice to see strong-willed Arya filled with a cold-blooded desire for vengeance, but it would also be nice to see some more of the naivety she displayed in Season One. That's what makes her such a great character, and I hope they don't try to transform her into Lady Vengeance and forget that she's still a young girl who often behaves that way.

Really like the handling of Brienne so far. The mutual oath-swearing between her & Cat was extremely moving.

The books made it very clear that Brienne was in love with Renly. I wasn't sure if that was made apparent before Renly's death scene, but my wife assured me that it came through (she hasn't read beyond Book One).

Very nice handling of Brienne's battle skills in the tent as she cut down the guards with ease.

Three comments on this episode:
1. Dany looked ridiculously good in that blue dress.
2. Deciding to bite the bullet and pay to ship production to Iceland = . Those backdrops looked absolutely incredible, you can't fake that with CGI.
3. Maisie Williams just out-acted Charles Dance. This is her first role.

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Re: Game of Thrones -- "The Ghost of Harrenhal" -- 4/29/12

As far as Arya's choice...yeah Gregor is around, but she's not in the lofty heights of some castle planning major battles. She's on the ground, and is our eyes into the effect this war is having on common people.

And also, she was testing to see if JH can really do what he says, or is full of shit.

And I actually liked their depiction of how mundane and useless torture is. Torture has been made way to cool and interesting on TV and movies. GOT gave us a more realistic depiction of torturers.

__________________
Tommy Ceez may or may not be a moron, but he's OUR possible moron - El Scorcho

Davos was going on about the scary sorcery of Melisandre, but Stannis' unwillingness to talk about it at all does indicate that he know it goes against his personal "code" yet he'll still do anything to get the iron throne.

Didn't Stannis say he was NOT going to bring the red woman to Kings Landing?

__________________
If its not love then its the bomb that will bring us together.

For me, the producers' handling of The Tickler was very disappointing. When they announced the casting of the part, I assumed that he would be given the vivid role that he had in the books. I had envisioned more of a Donald Pleasance sort of sociopath whose demeanor made it obvious how much he enjoyed his "work". Instead, we got a bored man eating a pear. Maybe it was the producers' way of showing how mundane the work of torturing people was to Ser Gregor's men, but I still found it disappointing.

An even bigger letdown was his demise. Without giving anything away from the books, I'll just say that his time in the books carried much more impact (the dread he inspired gave him a status that was almost mythological in a notorious way) & that he did reappear later in the book series in one of the most satisfying & dramatic scenes written by GRRM thus far. In fact, it was nearly a perfect scene & one that highly influenced other major characters & revealed quite a bit about their personalities and relationships. Hopefully, they'll manage to retain the impact of the scene by replacing The Tickler with a similar character, but it's still disappointing & a missed opportunity IMHO, although I trust the creators of the series to make up for it and not dilute that much-anticipated scene.

Also, even though we don't know (yet) whom Arya will choose next, I really liked the choices she made in the book along with her reasons. Her choices not only displayed her sense of justice but also her impulsiveness & immaturity... harking back to her indignant retorts in Season One whenever someone mistook her for a boy (or a peasant). The books made it apparent that, for all of her exposure to the violence & cruelty of the adult world, she is still very much an adolescent and behaves as such (her favorite word in the books seemed to be "stupid"). It's nice to see strong-willed Arya filled with a cold-blooded desire for vengeance, but it would also be nice to see some more of the naivety she displayed in Season One. That's what makes her such a great character, and I hope they don't try to transform her into Lady Vengeance and forget that she's still a young girl who often behaves that way.

Excellent discussion of the book vs. the series, but is this the book vs. the series thread? You even managed to get a book spoiler in there.

Really like the handling of Brienne so far. The mutual oath-swearing between her & Cat was extremely moving.

The books made it very clear that Brienne was in love with Renly. I wasn't sure if that was made apparent before Renly's death scene, but my wife assured me that it came through (she hasn't read beyond Book One).

I really like leaders who consider leadership is a 2-way responsibility. There are people who don't feel that way who are successful, but I still say it makes for the best leaders. I'll take a Cat over a Joffrey (or even Robert) any day.

It wasn't clear to me that Brienne was romantically in love with Renly. I figured she "loved" him in the way a soldier loves a good general.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hiro11

Three comments on this episode:
1. Dany looked ridiculously good in that blue dress.

I'm never going to be in the, "I hate Dany," club.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRM114

Didn't Stannis say he was NOT going to bring the red woman to Kings Landing?

Yes, but as a viewer who hasn't read the books, I have no idea whether he'll live up to that or not. I half expected him to eventually kill Davos for vehemently questioning him. His statement could just as easily have been to momentarily shut Davos up.

Excellent discussion of the book vs. the series, but is this the book vs. the series thread? You even managed to get a book spoiler in there.

Yes, that post is better suited for the book/show comparison/discussion thread, but I don't see a book spoiler and I've looked. But that doesn't mean that people who haven't read the books or know the events creekdipper is referencing should have to read them.

I suppose I'm alone in seeing Arya as a "meh" character and the girl playing her nothing special.

My guess would be yes. I feel she was great in the first season, but that stare down on Tywin was epic. And only made more awesome on the pulled out shot that showed her turning her body to walk away without turning her head and still keeping eye contact for a second longer.